Adapting custom eGPU cases for OCuLink eGPU setups

2023-11-20

There are various cases or mounting brackets for eGPU setups. The bad part is that most of them are for older M.2 kits which differ from OCuLink boards currently available. Yet with some modifications and good picks, there are options for handy eGPU setups even with OCuLink.

Acrylic enclosure

The acrylic enclosure showed up on Aliexpress not so long ago. It's intended to be used with a old eGPU adapter board.

From my testing none of the OCuLink boards match with existing mounting lines on the base of the enclosure so you won't be able to screw the board down. What could be done is using some thick double-sided tape to stick the OCuLink board down (while keeping board solder pads away from the metal of the base of the enclosure).

The case is very sturdy and well-made. It's rather small and will not fit the biggest of GPUs.

Side-powered and SATA powered OCuLink boards fit inside the box

Back-powered board may have problems fitting in

The base of the case has few mounting holes and open lanes that could be adapted for mounting or cable routing

And with such a box the ATX power supply would be somewhere outside so not the best solution. However there are custom power bricks with GPU ATX power connectors, so maybe you could come up with a smaller and more portable setup for a less power demanding GPU.

V-slot frames

I used an V-slot base open case before and there are similar kits for eGPU. V-slot is a standard for aluminum construction beams for various small workshop devices like 3D printers. You can get a PC case kit or eGPU frame kit and then get more parts and beams from local V-slot stores to make something highly customized.

The most annoying part about V-slot kits is screwing it all together and positioning mounting standoffs in just the right positions. This can take a while.

I have an old kit for M.2 eGPU while for OCuLink you should look for a variant compatible with an ATX power supply and not something customized to specific old eGPU board as that will not be compatible with OCuLink boards. This ATX-based kit should be a much better pick.

One side of the 90 degrees brackets can slide through the V-slot profile

550W custom power supply with two power lines and 2x8-pin and 1x6-pin cables

Intended for use with an old M.2 eGPU adapter board

For OCuLink mounting standoffs can be adjusted but the power supply would need 6-pin to female SATA for the SATA powered OCuLink board

This kit has the advantage of standoffs mounted to V-slot beams (so they can be adjusted, but the custom cables for the power supply aren't compatible with the OCuLink boards. The other kit linked has an ATX power supply mounting bracket and similar V-slot mounting standoffs so should be compatible without much work.

Also the GPU mounting bracket turned out to be not very precisely made and was a bit too high to use, at least with the OCuLink board so you may need some other option to secure the GPU.

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